How do I get my 8 month old daughter to go to sleep without a lot of crying and fussing? She has always been like this, but now we are thinking of putting her in daycare so I can go back to work and I'm worried that they might lose their patience with her. We know that she is tired with a lot of eye rubbing and yawning. We generally pick her up and pat and rub her back until she gets just ready to fall asleep or dozes off. Then we put her in her crib and she may just fall asleep or she will pop up and walk around her crib crying. We don't pick her back up, we let her cry it out. She may cry for 5 min., she may cry for 30 min. It's different every day. So, what tricks do you great mom's out there have for getting your baby to sleep with minimal fuss?
My little one is 9 months old and she recently started getting up at night after sleeping through the night since 2 months. As hard as it is, letting them cry it out will work. It took two days of sleepless nights and thankfully she went back to bed. Watch I just jinxed myself and she will be up all night tonight!
You didn't mention her sleep pattern or when she goes down for the nght. But I found that If I missed the "window" that they would have a harder time and I would spend a lot of time up and down soothing. At 8months my girls were going down for the night about 6:30 - they would wake to nurse around 11pm and sometimes around 5am (sometimes they'd skip one of those) and wake for the morning around 7:30. You might like the book Healthy sleep habbits Happy Child by Marc Weisbluth. I'm not a CIO mom - it's out of my comfort zone - but I am big on consistancy. Weisbluth is fine with it within parameters and then gives ideas for letting them fuss with soothing and then with no cry as well. - but i found reading his book helpful in understanding my child's sleep needs and setting my expectations and lifestyle accordingly. Following the nap and sleep objectives (irregardless of to CIO or not) allowed me to read my childs needs and head off the "over tired rubbing eyes, impossible to sooth" state. Maybe it would help you too.
I encourage you to check out the book Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child. Make sure you aren't letting the little one get too tired. It can help you know a good schedule for that age. It can minimize fussing.
The book Healthy sleep habits, happy Child really worked for us. the key is being consistant. good luck!
I have a 9 month old, he's fussy sometimes when I put him in his crib after he has fallin asleep in my arms, all I do is give him a bottle wedge it up on a blanket let it touch his mouth and he just sucks on it and falls back to sleep instantly....Have a bottle with a few ounces ready & a blanket ( I use a knitted blanket it's more flexible) and when you go to put her down if she starts to cry try that right away.
I think my daughter also put up a fuss around 8 months --I think the important work of play and socializing gets in the way of rest. I just kept repeating my routine with my daughter, letting her fuss a little. The phase will pass. They eventually do ;-)
I used to work in daycare and children respond differently there than they do at home sometimes. She may cry but they totally expect that at a daycare and those kids usually get lots of cuddling and they work with them to get them into the daycare's routine. Your child will see all the other kids just laying down and sleeping and she may just go right along with the program. She needs to learn to soothe herself to sleep and she will eventually not have to cry to fall asleep.
It took us a while but after reading a few articles we started to pay attention more to her signals BEFORE she starts yawning. We started noticing that she would get quieter and get clingy before she got to the eye rubbing and yawning. They say that once they hit that point, they are already over-tired and it becomes harder for them to sleep. We found that to be true. When she started showing signs that she was starting to get quieter, we started our bedtime routine (which we do for naps and nighttime since she was born) and she went down MUCH easier. Sometimes she would still cry, but it definitely seemed to work way better than waiting until she was already too tired. Good luck!
S., our first was a very challenging sleeper at home but at day care she was no problem. I've heard the same from other moms.
Hi S.,
I put a couple "toys" in my daughters crib...I know that some say this is not good for when she is older, but I have the fischer-price my first baby, and she loves that doll, so I let her sleep with it. I also put on music and have that ladybug night light, which I put on the "headboard" of her crib. She is able to roll around, so I am not worried of these things hurting her (she is bigger than them anyways). Hope this helps! Good Luck
My eight month old daughter is the same way. She's teething, though, so what I do is give her her bedtime tylenol for her teeth (we try to avoid it during the day and use alternative ways to soothe her gums), then wrap her in a blanket and let her have a bottle until she is drowsy. This normally works like a charm for us. Good luck!
